Temper, Temper
by Shayla17
Summary: After going all out for Halloween, Bryan practically throws a fit when a small detail doesn't go his way. David, who was trying to be patient, has had enough. Pre-series. WARNING: Domestic discipline in the form of M/M spanking of adult. DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ.


**A/N: I'm supposed to be working on my novel for NaNoWriMo but instead I'm writing this story. Wellp. This story is part of the same AU of my previous TNN story "Baby Clothes." In case you didn't read it, Bryan and David are in a relationship that practices Domestic Discipline (so yes, spanking). This story was inspired by the recent Halloween episode, but it is set pre-series, a year or two before the episode. For those who read the other story, thanks so much for all the positive feedback! This story has taken me quite a while to finish, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Eep okay I'm going to shut up now. Hope you enjoy. :) **

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Ryan Murphy and Allison Adler.**

**Temper, Temper**

"Well, this is a complete disaster." Bryan grumbled angrily, slamming the door as he followed David into the overly decorated house. David put his keys on the hook by the door, counting to ten in his head. He'd been listening to his boyfriend rant for twenty straight minutes, and he was about to be at the end of his tether. He knew Bry had a thing for Halloween, and he also knew that he was a little tyrant when it came to costumes and details... but this was getting out of hand.

"Bryan," he said slowly, hoping his calm tone would rub off on his boyfriend. "I know it didn't quite go as you'd hoped... but it's not the end of the world, honey."

"Not the end of the world?!" Bryan, filled with frustration that David never seemed to be on his side, grabbed the thing nearest him and threw it with all his might. "Do you not understand how _long_ I worked on that hat? It _completed _the costume, David. And after all of that hard work, she didn't even wear it! We looked ridiculous...!"

David just barely stepped out of the path of the very expensive pottery decoration Bryan had thrown before it shattered on the floor. He stared, open mouthed, at the mess of broken pieces, unable to focus on his boyfriend's angry stream of words.

"She is _my_ assistant! She's supposed to do what I tell her, right? That should include this! I could just feel everyone at that party laughing at us.."

Finally able to snap out of his shock, David spoke, his voice a deadly whisper. "Bryan..."

"After all that time and effort. It _never_ goes the way I want it!"

"Bryan."

"And to think you don't even care! You know, David, I wouldn't kill you to be a bit more understanding-"

"E_NOUGH_."

Bryan froze, stunned to hear his usually calm boyfriend raise his voice. Taking one look at David's angry face, and the mess he'd made right behind him, he realized just how far he'd pushed him.

A few moments of tense silence passed before David felt he could speak without yelling.

"That is enough." He leveled Bryan with an even look. "I'm sorry that Rocky didn't look the way you'd wanted. I'm sorry that everything cannot go your way. But acting like a petulant child does not solve anything."

Wanting so badly to deny that he was acting childish but knowing it would be the wrong move, Bryan lowered his eyes to the floor and let out a quiet apology.

"You seriously need to start thinking about how you're behaving _before_ you get to the point where you have to apologize," David lectured sternly. "For God's sake, Bryan. You are a grown man who just threw a tantrum over a _hat._"

Bry let out a shaky breath, tears gathering in his eyes at his boyfriend's harsh tone. He felt about two feet tall as he thought about the awful display he'd just put on.

"I'm going for a walk." David said firmly, trying to ignore the way his heart contracted at the sight of his obviously guilt-ridden boyfriend. "I expect this to be cleaned up when I get back."

After he heard the soft "yes, David" leave his boyfriend's mouth, David turned and left the house, hoping that a few minutes of quiet would help to calm him down.

As soon as he watched the door close, Bryan let out a breath and dropped his head in his hands. A mixture of shame, guilt, and regret churned uneasily in his stomach as the events of the past few minutes replayed in his mind like a scene from a bad movie.

_I'm such an idiot_, he thought with a groan as he looked at the shards of broken pottery still scattered across the floor. With a sigh, he went in search of the broom and dustpan and quickly cleaned up the mess, not wanting David to come back to find he'd disobeyed him.

Once he'd dumped the broken pieces into the trash, Bry fidgeted, not really knowing what to do while he waited for his boyfriend to get back. It was then that he finally noticed he was still wearing his Halloween costume.

_Halloween..._ he thought bitterly as he made his way to their bedroom to change. That's what had caused this whole mess.

_ Now you know that's not true. _A small part of him piped up while he pulled on a pair of pajamas. _It's not the holiday's fault that you're a brat. _

Bryan frowned, wanting to tell that part of him to shove it, but knowing that it was right. _God, I really am a brat. It was just a stupid costume... why did I let myself get so worked up? David's probably so disappointed... _He cringed as he thought of the look of anger and shock that was on his partner's face when he'd left the house. He'd been so upset that he had to take a walk to calm down...

Bryan slumped down on the bed, feeling heavy with guilt. This wasn't the first time he'd let his temper get the best of him. In fact, it was such a recurring problem that it'd been one of the first things he'd come to David with when they'd come up with this arrangement. He'd been tired of his temper causing problems in both his personal and professional lives. Because of this, David had set controlling his temper as a strict rule, and he thought he'd gotten better about it. Yet, here he was, undoubtedly about to punished for it once again.

Tears began to stream silently down Bryan's cheeks as he thought about how much trouble he was in. He laid down on his side, and wrapped his arms around himself, guilt overwhelming him as he waited for his boyfriend's return.

* * *

David, for his part, was carefully thinking over the best way to deal with the other man's behavior. He'd been walking for a few minutes now, and wasn't as angry as he had been. Now he just felt a sense of dread at what he was going to have to do. He knew how important it was to Bryan that he get control of that temper of his, and was beginning to feel the full weight of his responsibility to the guy he loved.

On the one hand, he knew that by now his boyfriend was probably feeling pretty guilty and he wanted nothing more than to accept that as punishment enough and cuddle Bryan until he was feeling better again. On the other hand, he knew that anything but swift consequences-as per their agreement-would be read as a rejection by his partner, and that wasn't something he was willing to let Bryan feel... now matter how hard it was to provide him with discipline sometimes.

After a couple more minutes of walking and thinking, he decided that he'd let his boyfriend stew long enough. It was time to go take care of him. With his resolve overpowering his reluctance, David quickly made his way back to the house.

Once he was satisfied that Bryan had followed his instructions about cleaning up his mess, he made a beeline to their bedroom, preparing himself to be stern. The sight of his partner curled up on the bed, however, considerably weakened his firm resolve.

"Bry..." his voice was soft and gentle as he sat on the bed and ran a comforting hand over the other man's back. "Baby, it's alright..."

"No, it's really not alright." Bryan replied, sniffling, though he did relax a bit under David's gentle touch. "I was a complete ass... And that bowl was from an exclusive collection..."

David couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle at that comment, though he wasn't particularly happy about Bryan insulting himself.

"You acted inappropriately, but we're going to take care of it," he reassured, noticing that Bryan's tears were already drying up. "And the sooner we get started, the sooner it'll all be over."

Feeling a bit better now that David was there and his guilt was about to be thoroughly taken care of, Bryan took a deep breath and nodded.

Sensing that his partner was ready, David once again prepared himself to be stern. Firmly, yet calmly, David told Bryan to stand up. Once he obeyed, he reached over and began to tug down his pajama pants. Bry focused on his breathing and tried to remain calm as his boxers were brought down as well.

Being as gentle as possible, David took his boyfriend's wrist and positioned him over his lap. He remembered the first time that he'd had to dole out a spanking to his partner, and how awkward it had been to get the taller man into position. Now, however, there was an ease born out of experience as they settled; Bry's upper half resting on the bed, his head buried in the crook of his arm.

David paused for a moment, getting himself in the proper head space to administer the discipline Bryan needed. They both knew this wasn't going to be an easy punishment to get through. Steeling himself, David wrapped his left arm around Bryan's waist, and held him firmly in place.

"Tell me why we're here, Bry."

"I broke the temper rule... I let my temper take over," Bryan turned his head so he could be heard. "So much so that I was disrespectful and destructive... literally. I'm so sorry, David..."

"You had a serious lapse in judgment." David replied. "But it's going to be okay."

Feeling there was nothing else that needed to be said for a while, David lifted his hand and brought it down sharply. Bryan let out a soft grunt at the sting, and bit his lip as the onslaught continued. David wasn't going easy on him, delivering hard swats at a quick pace. It wasn't long before Bryan was beginning to squirm over his boyfriend's lap, unable to stop the quiet yelps that were escaping his lips every swat or two.

"I understand that it can be upsetting when things don't go as planned," David began lecturing once the other man's backside was decent shade of pink. "But we have talked about ways to deal with frustration without going into a temper, haven't we?"

"Mmpf... yes, David..." Bryan's voice was strained as he answered, trying to deal with the rapidly increasing fire that raged across his naked backside. His legs jerked in response to every sharp smack, tears beginning to once again form in his eyes.

"Keeping your temper in control is one of our big rules, Bry." David shifted his boyfriend a bit, and began to aim his swats toward his untouched sit spots, spanking hard and fast, hoping to get his point across quickly. "Yelling and throwing things is behavior more befitting to a toddler than a grown man. Not only is it completely unacceptable, but it can also cause people to lose their respect for you, make snap judgments about you, spread rumors... You know how detrimental that can be in your line of work. And if you can't work on it here with me, how do you expect to exercise control when you're in the public eye?"

Bryan let out a sob, the fierce sting in his bottom combined with the truth his David's stern lecture overwhelming him.

"I'm... so sorry..." he choked out, crying hard as David laid down harsh swats to the top of his thighs. "Pl-please, David... I... owww... it won't happen again...!"

"I really hope it doesn't," David replied, bringing his swats back up to Bryan's now glowing red cheeks. "I'd hate to have to bring out the brush just to reteach this lesson to you."

Bryan cried harder at that thought, shoulders shaking as he laid there, fully accepting of his punishment.

David, satisfied that the lesson had been learned, landed three more almighty smacks before starting to rub soothing circles into his boyfriend's shaking back.

"Okay, babe," he said quietly, patiently waiting for Bry to calm down. "It's over now. You're alright..." After his cries quieted to soft sniffles, David reached down to replace the other man's clothes before carefully lifting him up onto his lap.

Bryan, feeling embarrassed about all the crying he'd just been doing, immediately snuggled into David's warm embrace. "I'm sorry I can be such a brat..." he said, voice soft.

"It's okay, babe." David pressed a kiss into his temple. "You're _my_ brat, and I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Even though I'm incredibly flawed...?"

David lifted Bryan's chin and pulled him into a tender kiss. "_Especially_ because you're incredibly flawed. I know it's a cliché... but I'm pretty sure it's your imperfections that make you so perfect."

Bryan gave a snort at that, though he couldn't help the wide smile that spread across his face.

"I love you."

"I love you too." David gave him one more lingering kiss before standing them both up. "You know what I think is the perfect cure for a sore butt?"

"Lotion? Sex? A nice cold shower?"

"No," David chuckled at his boyfriend's eager suggestions. "Halloween candy."

"Ooh!" Bryan grinned and grabbed the other man's hand. "Sounds perfect."

With a relieved smile, David allowed himself to be dragged down to the kitchen where the sweets laid in wait. Seeing his boyfriend relaxed, guilt free, and back to his normal self once again, reassured him that he really was able to provide the guy he loved with what he really needed... and that maybe he wasn't so bad at this whole boyfriend thing.

**THE END**

**A/N: Oy, I have a knack for weak endings. Oh well... hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think. (: **


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